Percy Jackson and the Zombie Apocalypse
by Peeta Melark
Summary: Percy Jackson accidentally kick-started the zombie apocalypse. Now, he's stuck in an old house with a girl named Annabeth and a zombie. Read and find out! AU- normal kids without powers. This will be Percabeth, of course.
1. Chapter 1

Now, I never wanted to kick start the zombie apocalypse. In fact, that was _really_ far down on my Things To Do list. But, somehow, my science project went really, really wrong and a whole lot of people started turning into walking corpses. Again; not my fault _exactly_. If not for my brother Tyson, this probably would have taken twenty minutes more to get going.

Let's just say my project exploded and that was how I ended up locked in an abandoned house in the country with a girl named Annabeth and a zombie named Nico. Well, I would never have known that if Annabeth hadn't told me. Apparently she knew him, and she couldn't bear to kill him. She owed it to his sister or something. Whatever it was, I didn't think it was good enough to risk our lives. But it became clear pretty quickly that Nico could be taught. Either he wasn't a normal zombie, or these things could learn. He could respond to our voices through various sounds and motions (except that we had him chained up), and he was starting to recognize words.

"Hey, Nico," I said. Nico strained against his chains, making a low keening sound. I laughed. "I know, buddy, but I can't let you go. Annabeth'll kill me."

"Ugh!" I could swear Nico was sounding more and more like a normal teenager every day. I let myself give another laugh.

"Sorry, kiddo."

Nico tried to bite me. Just then, Annabeth slammed through the door. When she saw me sitting with Nico, she smiled.

"You'll never learn, will you, Seaweed Brain?"

"Guess not," I shrugged. Nico slumped against the wall. His head banged into a pipe, making a loud clanging sound. Annabeth winced. I could tell she wanted to do something.

"Poor kid," she said. "I wonder if he'll ever talk."

Nico rattled the chains on his wrists irritably as if to tell us to go away. Annabeth reached out to touch his hair, dodging his teeth with nimble fingers. Annabeth told me that Nico's hair was soft. I almost didn't believe her. It looked brittle and dead, just like Nico.

Oh, sorry. I haven't described Nico, have I? Well, he was a zombie. He must have been about fourteen years old, and he had probably been really pale when he was alive. He had a mop of dark, curly hair and dark, haunted eyes. Of course, his eyes were kind of glassy and dead, but I could imagine a haunted look in them. He wasn't really decaying, which I thought was weird, but then again he wasn't _really_ a normal zombie.

Another moan from Nico made me jump. He was gnawing anxiously at his chains, the way he did whenever other zombies were around. I pulled them out of his mouth and reached for his hair like Annabeth did. Nico didn't snap at me this time.

"It's okay, buddy," I murmured. "You're going to be okay."

With a noise of frustration, Nico nodded. It wasn't nodding, just an arbitrary motion, but I liked to think he understood. Annabeth grabbed a knife from the wall and I grabbed two for good measure. The door rattled, but it didn't break. We had it barricaded pretty well.

As the attack subsided, Annabeth slumped into an old chair, rubbing her temples with one hand as she pulled out a shiny laptop. When Nico saw it light up, he made a whining noise that could only be interpreted as joy. He liked light. At first, we had locked him in the basement, but he screamed and wailed to wake the dead. When we brought him up into the house with us, the cries stopped. He sat in a pool of sunlight, playing with the chains on his wrists. He wasn't strong enough to break them. Annabeth made sure of that.

Eventually, Nico did learn words. Annabeth was tightening his chains, when she heard him say, "No," in the softest voice imaginable. She sprang back, hands clutching at her heart. She knelt down in front of him, pointing to herself.

"Annabeth," she told him. "I'm Annabeth."

Nico looked at her blankly, making a collection of sounds that might have been his attempt to speak. It was incoherent. Annabeth didn't give up, though. She pointed instead at Nico, telling him his own name. Nico bobbed his head like he understood, which he probably didn't. Annabeth stood up, grabbing me.

"This is Percy," she said. "Percy is a friend. No eating Percy."

This prompted a whining sound from Nico. I guess he didn't like me as much as I'd thought. Or maybe I just looked like a good snack for late afternoon. Whichever, whatever. I didn't want to be zombie food.

"Nico…" Nico creaked. "Nico, Nico, Nico…" His words were slurred. "Nico, Nico, Nico, Nico, Nico. Help. Percy. Annabeth. No."

Annabeth looked like she might explode with happiness as she patted Nico's hair. I decided to try my luck.

"How's it going, kid?"

Nico glared at me as best he could for an undead guy. Admittedly, it was pretty scary. Annabeth got up and went to check the doors and windows (except for Nico's "sun window"), leaving me alone with Nico. It was unnerving. He was too quiet, and he didn't breathe. Seriously. Sitting in a room with someone who doesn't breath is scary as all Hades. And now Nico's mumbling didn't make it better.

"Bianca," he murmured. "Bianca, Bianca, Bianca. Percy." He looked at me warily (if dead people _can_ be wary). "Percy. Percy, Percy, Percy."

I got up from the comfort of the carpet. "Yeah, kid?"

Nico didn't reply. As soon as I got closer, he shrank back, as if he was actually afraid. I honestly didn't see _why_ he was afraid of me. I was the nicest guy ever! I even brought him mice to eat! From the kitchen, I heard Annabeth shout,

"Tell me if he says anything new or if he shows any signs of improvement!"

I shot back, "What are we, his parents?"

If I hadn't known better, I would have thought Annabeth laughed.

"Sure!" she said. "You keep thinking that, Seaweed Brain!"

And that was when Nico broke free, lunging straight for my throat.


	2. Chapter 2

I'd love to say I faced this problem like a grown up. But the truth is, I screamed like a toddler and swung my knife at Nico. Nico, being a zombie, didn't have the motor skills to dodge. I got him right across the collarbone, digging deep into the greying flesh. Nico let out a horrible shriek and retreated back to the corner. Annabeth came running in, grabbing Nico and chaining him up again. Then she took the knife and gave me a death glare worthy of my stepdad.

"You _stabbed_ him?" she shrieked, sounding not unlike Nico. "How could you?"

I gave a nervous laugh. "Well he would've killed _me_, Wise Girl."

Annabeth huffed indignantly, hanging the knife back on the wall. "I'm hungry," she said finally. "Want something to eat?"

"Sure," I shrugged. "Why not?"

Dinner was pretty basic: just some bread and cheese. Amazingly, the fridge still worked, which was great. We'd raided a bunch of stores on the first day before coming here to the abandoned house. We had enough nonperishable food to last for a year, and enough stuff like cheese and bread to last for the next month or two. Some stuff, we stuck into the freezer to last even longer. Annabeth had made sure we got as much tea and coffee as possible.

"Helps me think," was her only explanation.

The conversation was pretty basic too, for the zombie apocalypse. Annabeth discussed her plans for our survival, and I talked about my mum. Neither of us mentioned Nico, but he kept screaming and pulling at his chains. It was kind of disturbing. Finally, Annabeth went to sit next to him, taking his hand in hers. I wondered what his skin felt like. Was it cold? Dry? I didn't think I wanted to find out.

"Nico," Annabeth said softly. "Percy is _so_ sorry about what he did, and he won't do it again if you promise not to attack him again, okay?"

Nico stared at her.

"Promise, Nico?"

This seemed to stir him. "Promise, Nico," he mimicked. Annabeth smiled, tugging at the chains like she didn't know whether to leave him there. I grabbed her and pulled her away quickly.

"Want some chocolate?" It was a lame excuse. Annabeth knew I knew she wanted to let Nico go, I guess, because she didn't bring it up. I tried again for conversation. "Uh, nice shirt."

She looked down at the ratty old button down she was wearing, then gave me an _I'm on to you_ look. I shrugged, raising my hands in surrender. Annabeth grimaced, reaching for the chocolate I had retrieved from the kitchen counter.

"Go take a shower, Seaweed Brain. We don't know if the infection can spread through _their_ blood too."

I hadn't noticed at first, but Nico _was_ bleeding. A kind of bluish sludge (probably some kind of coagulated, deoxidized blood) was oozing from the cut. Annabeth grabbed a sewing kit and some rubber gloves. She was going to stitch him up, I realized, which was probably the worst idea ever. I didn't get why Annabeth was so emotionally attached to him. Sure, it was kind of neat having a zombie as a pet (Annabeth _hated_ when I called Nico a pet), but I didn't see why doting on a dead guy was necessary. As Annabeth pulled the thread through his skin, Nico made a whining noise in the back of his throat, clawing at her shirt with his bloody hands. It was his blood, thankfully, not mine, but it meant Annabeth needed a new shirt. She couldn't be that close to zombie blood. We'd have to throw it out somehow too—and _not_ in the kitchen. Annabeth locked eyes with me, sending me the message: _go upstairs_, before she turned away from Nico and unbuttoned her shirt. I pulled one from its convenient spot on the railing and threw it at her. It was mine, so it would probably be way too big, but there wasn't really another option.

You know how I said the fridge was working? The hot water wasn't. I had to spend five minutes in a freezing shower, trying to wash the zombie blood off of my skin. It wasn't great, but I did feel cleaner afterwards. When I got downstairs, Annabeth was tapping away at her laptop. I knew it didn't have much more battery. She had dimmed the screen and keyboard almost impossibly, and she was muttering to herself about needing just a little more time. Finally, she snapped it shut, sighing.

"Done."

"Done?" I asked. "Done with what?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing. I just emailed a friend of mine. If she's still alive, she can make her way over here. I told her to bring what resources she has and _not_ to bring any zombie germs with her."

I glanced at Nico, who growled. I wanted to say something to Annabeth about how rude Nico was, but I decided not to. She claimed he hadn't been a ray of sunshine _before_ he was turned anyways. Still, I kind of wanted to remove his jaw and see how rude he could be without it.

"Percy…" Nico muttered, looking at me with his big, dark eyes. I shifted uncomfortably.

"What, kiddo?" I ruffled his hair. Instead of trying to bite me, he leaned into my hand like a cat. I laughed, and so did Annabeth.

"He likes you!" she exclaimed. I grinned.

"For now, at least. Maybe he's just sucking up after he tried to kill me."

Annabeth nodded, though she looked an awful lot like she wanted to argue. I grinned, almost challenging her to. But she was really good at keeping her emotions in check. I wished _I _were that good.

"We've got to hope… we've got to hope that Piper and the others are all right," she said finally, gazing sadly at Nico. I wanted to ask her why she was so bent on keeping him alive, or, um, undead, but the look in her eyes stopped me. They were stormy grey and full of sadness. I wondered if Nico's sister had been killed in the apocalypse before she met me. I wondered if that was the only reason she'd decided to stick with me.

"It's not," Annabeth murmured, reading my mind. "You're strong and you're brave… and you're loyal. I'm glad to be here with you. Even if you _did_ start the apocalypse."

"Hey!" I cried, about to get up and tackle her. But then the doorbell rang.

Annabeth looked like she might cry. "They're here."


	3. Chapter 3

The kids at the door looked about my age. If I hadn't known better, I might've thought they were trick-or-treating. There was a girl with choppy, dark hair, a girl with dark skin and dark curls, a tall blond guy, a small, curly-haired guy and a big Asian guy. They all looked pretty beat up. When the dark-skinned girl saw Nico, she let out a horrified scream and covered her mouth with her hands. Annabeth explained that Nico was her half brother. She hadn't seen him in months. The choppy-haired girl, Piper, smiled and gave both Annabeth and I crushing hugs before introducing herself to me. The blond guy was Jason and the other guys were Leo and Frank. Leo kept looking around the house, muttering to himself in Spanish as he worked everything out in his head. We boarded up the door again and went to sit with Nico in the living room.

For a while, there was this perfect silence. Frank played with Hazel's hair, and Jason held Piper's hand. Leo tinkered with some scraps of metal and wire in his pockets. When he was done, he held a small propeller in his hands. Then he took it all apart again, shoving the scraps back into his pockets, sighing heavily. Hazel broke the silence.

"How…?" she asked, looking at Nico. "How did it happen?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I can't, Hazel," she choked out. "You know I can't?"

"Why did you shoot him?" Jason asked. I wanted to get up and smack him. What the actual Hell was he thinking asking a question like that? Hazel sobbed and Annabeth didn't look much better.

"Because I shot his sister," Annabeth whispered. "How could I shoot him if I shot his sister? He didn't forgive me for that. If he were conscious enough, he'd probably come after me personally. But he doesn't." She started to cry, taking in short gasps of air and letting them out in a horrible noise that sounded like she couldn't breathe. "I couldn't shoot him after what I did! There's too much blood on my hands already."

From the silence that followed, I could tell everyone wanted to ask what blood that was. We didn't need to. Annabeth continued her tale without prompting.

"There was Luke," she murmured. "I shot my boyfriend Luke. He was one of the first ones turned, and I didn't know what else to do. And then I shot Malcolm… my brother… and I hit Clarisse with a frying pan. And… and that big guy. The one who tried to kill Percy—"

"Tyson," I told her. I didn't tell her that was my brother. Why burden her even more?

"Tyson," she repeated. "And there were more, but I can't remember them. I ran and ran and ran, dragging Nico behind me, and then I found this place. And P-Percy came with me." She broke down, falling into my arms. It was awkward, but I felt the urge to protect her. I wrapped my arms around her. I saw Frank and Jason doing the same with Hazel and Piper. Piper seemed reluctant to be coddled, but she gave in.

Nico hit his fist hard against the floor, making us all jump. Hazel scrambled to her feet, backing as far away from him as possible. That's when I noticed that she was missing a finger on her left hand.

"Zombie," she explained, catching my stare. "If you remove the infected area _immediately_, you can eliminate the risk of being turned. But it has to be _immediately_."

Being the idiot I was, I asked, "Did it hurt?"

The memory of pain flickered in her eyes. She nodded. "But it was better than being one of _them_." She pointed at Nico, who snapped at her. Then he stopped, just sort of looking at her like he'd never seen her before in his life.

"Ha…zel?" he rasped. If Hazel was surprised, she did a good job of hiding it.

"Hey, Nico," she said. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. "I'm sorry, buddy. I wish I could have helped."

It struck me that Hazel only looked about thirteen. There was no _way_ she could have lived this long, was there? Well, obviously! I was impressed.

Annabeth spoke up. "Do you want tea, anyone? I can get tea for you." She started up, but Jason put a gentle hand on her shoulder, signaling that he'd be the one getting stuff for now. Fortunately, we shook our heads. Leo grinned.

"Well, I brought lots of non-perishables, so we should be good for awhile. Who wants a donut?" No one. "Thought not. Me neither." He went back to tinkering with the stuff in his pockets.

"Leo," Nico said. Leo looked up, putting a finger to his lips.

"Shh!" he said. He looked ready to knock Nico unconscious (if he was even conscious to begin with). Nico just gave a creaky laugh. Annabeth had explained it to me as Nico imitating our sounds like talking and laughing and stuff like that. It was downright creepy.

"Shh!" Nico hissed back. Leo laughed a little bit.

"Stop that," said Leo, crossing his arms. "It's freaking me out."

Nico crossed his arms too, digging his fingernails into his elbow. The chains clanked together, making the worst sound imaginable. Leo flinched. He looked like he wanted to unchain Nico, but he stayed where he was. Pain flickered in his eyes. I wondered how much I was missing. I'd only just met them, and I certainly hadn't known Annabeth before she found me knocked out in her courtyard.

"So…" Piper started. "How did you email me?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I didn't think it would go through, and I wasn't sure if you were alive, but I had to hope…"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I have no idea," Annabeth confessed, holding up her hands in defeat. Piper nodded slowly, like she was processing this.

Nico started gnawing on his chains, a sign that other zombies were nearby. Annabeth sprang into action, and so did everyone else. Hazel pulled a crowbar from her bag, Leo grabbed a metal rod sharpened into a spear, Jason grabbed his pistol and Piper grabbed a knife. Annabeth and I did too. We'd long since run out of firearms. It was dangerous, but there was nothing else we could do.

"What do you say?" Piper asked. "We go outside and fight them off from there, or we stay in here and shoot through the windows? I can throw a knife okay."

Annabeth didn't need to think. "Stay inside," she said. "It'll subside if they think this place is abandoned. Oh—and someone watch Nico. We don't want him making a lot of noise."

I was going to stay, but Leo got there first.

"No, man," he said. "I've got this." And he sat down next to Nico, taking the chains from his mouth and tossing them on the floor. Nico's wrists were pulled down along with the chains and he pouted as best he could for a guy with sketchy motor and muscle control. Then he pulled his knees up to his chest and started rocking back and forth, looking not unlike a small child. That was all I got to see because Annabeth hissed my name.

"Percy! Get your ass over here!"

I knew better than to disobey her. "Coming!"

The zombies had gotten a lot bolder. They came right up to the front door, pounding on it like kids on Halloween. Jason opened up a window and shot out of it. Piper and Frank shot slingshots. Hazel thrust her crowbar out at any zombie that got too close for comfort. Finally, they moved on, leaving us to the crushing boredom I was just starting to get used to. It was just like those TV shows I used to watch. At first, it was scary enough that you didn't get bored, but then, once you started getting used to the presence of undead _creatures_, the boredom set in. I could tell Leo was feeling it too. He kept tinkering with Nico's chains, avoiding his teeth like the plague. But he was making them stronger, so I couldn't argue.

"I'm sorry, Nico," I heard him whisper. "But we've got to keep you tied up like this until you can learn a bit more. Maybe then you can tell us your story."

Nico nodded absently, opening and closing his mouth, making groaning noises. It didn't take long for him to be a racket and a half. Everyone looked uneasy—except for, of course, Annabeth and I. We were used to Nico's din. Sometimes he kept us up until all hours of the night with his screams. Sometimes, I thought he was just doing it because he was bored. I wouldn't have blamed him either.

"Can you…" Jason looked embarrassed. "Can you shut him up?" He looked a bit guilty too.

"Come on, Nico," I said, pulling at the chains gently, trying to distract him. "Here…" I looked around, trying to find something to give to him. Hazel produced a rubber ball from her bag and tossed it to me. "Here, Nico. Play with this."

I placed it in his hands, trying not to flinch as his skin brushed mine. It was cold and horribly dry. I understood why people were so damn scared of zombies. Nico grabbed the ball; turning it over and over in his chapped, grey fingers. His eyes were hungry, like he'd been in a horrible state of ennui for the longest time. There was a collective sigh as his cries stopped. Hazel laughed.

"That's my brother!" she said cheerily. "Always distractable."

Jason frowned. "Oh gods," he muttered. "This is all my fault."


	4. Chapter 4

Jason looked at us like he'd just realized we were there. He stared and stared until I thought his eyes might pop right out of his skull. Fortunately, they didn't. He just kept staring. Finally, Piper put her hand on his arm.

"What was your fault?"

A shudder ran through Jason's body. "This." He waved a hand at Nico, who growled. "I was trying to get him to, um, talk to you guys about something and he ran off."

"Talk about what?" Hazel asked. At first, I didn't know if Jason would tell us, but he did.

"I wanted him to come out to you guys."

There was a collection of gasps and exclamations of surprise. Leo shifted uncomfortably in his seat, crossing his arms almost guiltily. I wondered why, but I knew better than to ask. Hazel, who was rummaging around in her bag, stopped and stared, but she didn't look too surprised or disturbed.

Nico made a moaning sound, hitting at the floor with sluggish hands. He wasn't talking, except to say, "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." If he'd ben alive, I was sure he'd be tearing out Jason's throat. His eyes were glazed over with a dull, silvery film. I'd seen a similar film in the eyes of the newly turned. I'd seen it in my mother's eyes…

Shuddering, I tried to push away any thoughts of my mum. She was a zombie now, if not dead completely. I wondered if she was still sitting up in our apartment, gnawing absently on someone's—probably Paul's—missing arm. Immediately, I wished I hadn't recalled those images.

Annabeth got up, running her hands through her dirty, blonde hair. "We should take count of the food. We need to make sure it's going to last. Leo, Hazel, come with me. Jason… Jason…" She gave him a hug. "Thanks for coming. And Piper!" She hugged her too. "I'm so glad to see you."

She left, trailing Hazel and Leo behind her. Hazel kept running her fingers over the place where her missing one was supposed to be. It was unnerving.

"Hey, Nico," Jason said. Nico looked at him with as much loathing as his dead brain could muster.

"Nope," he replied. It would have been comical any other day. "Nope, nope, nope."

Jason didn't seem offended. How could he be upset with a dead guy? It really wasn't easy to be mad at a zombie unless it tried to kill you. Nico was in no position to kill anyone.

Annabeth marched back in, a rifle in her hand along with several items of food. Slowly, I realized that we probably hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours while we waited and fought. I was hungry, which wasn't surprising, and I was sure Nico was too. When he saw Annabeth, he looked down at his dirty sneakers, hiding his eyes behind his hair. Annabeth tossed him a piece of raw meat, which he picked at warily, like he didn't trust anything coming from an actual _human_. Finally, I guess his instincts won out. He gnawed on it like a kitten with a catnip toy. I could have _sworn_ he was purring as he curled up for an afternoon "nap."

Hazel giggled. "Look, Frank! He's like a kitten!"

The big Asian guy, Frank, nodded curtly. His manner, I had noticed, was often short and abrupt. He didn't sugarcoat things just for our sakes. Hazel told me he had changed a lot since the apocalypse began. Before, he had been a big sweetie (her words, not mine), but so much death and pain had changed him. He was tall and broad and muscular. His face was angular and a scar ran down his cheek. I couldn't imagine the adorable, chubby Frank she kept describing.

Hazel herself looked different than the pictures that were being passed around by Piper as they walked down memory lane. The Hazel in the pictures was tiny and soft looking. She had long, curly hair and warm, golden-brown eyes. She had a soft smile and didn't look too strong.

The Hazel I was getting to know was small but tough. Her face was hardened, her hair was cut short, and her wiry arms were incredibly strong. Missing finger or no, she was an excellent fighter. She too had scars, but they ran all over her body and face. Her arms, her legs, her shoulders were all covered in scars. One ran all the way from her jaw to her belly button. She made it her duty to point out each one and remind us how dangerous it was out there. My first impression had been right. She was only thirteen.

I didn't know what Annabeth looked like before the apocalypse. By the time I met her, it had already been a month. She was tall and blonde with a stern but lovely face and stormy grey eyes. She was also muscular, like the other, and she could hold her own in a fight. She had a scar on her lip, like Buffy in "The Wish," and her left arm had a jagged line running up it. Nico had given her both in the times he'd tried to break free.

Speaking of Nico, he was making another racket, banging his chains together and screeching. His eyes were wide open, fixed on the wall behind my head. Then he lowered it onto his knees, shrieking and rattling the chains like a deranged animal in an abandoned zoo. I shuddered.

"Nico, stop," Annabeth said, which did absolutely nothing.

"Nico, please!" Jason begged. Nico looked up sharply, snapping at Jason's hand. Jason pulled it back at the last moment. "Whoa, Nico! Stop!"

Nico's screams got worse and worse until, finally, he stopped, quieting to a high-pitched whimpering. I was starting to think keeping a zombie around was going to kill us all.

Annabeth gave a small sob behind me, but when I turned, she was silent and stony-faced. I could see in her eyes that she wished she'd shot him when she had the chance. The way he was living… it was no way to live. It wasn't even living. He was dead.

"Nope," Nico whined. "Nope, nope, nope."

I was almost ready to stuff him in a sack when he looked straight at me.

"Percy?" It was a deliberate question. I was sure of it.

"Hey, Nico," I said, waving. Nico tilted his head to the side.

"Ann…a…beth…" He was having trouble with anything over two syllables. "Ha…zel. Frank… Ja…son… Pi…per… Leo…" His eyes fixed on Leo. "Leo… Val…dez…"

I didn't know if it meant he was just mimicking or if he was actually starting to relearn stuff for real this time.

"Ball…" Nico glared at the ball that had rolled away from him. Then he looked up at the window questioningly.

"That's a window," I told him. Apparently, _window_ was too hard for him. He just stared at me and went back to whining.

Leo coughed. "Well that's depressing. Donut anyone?"

We shrugged. But before Leo could get to the kitchen, there was another knock on the door.

**Who should this be? Reyna? Thalia? Zombies?**

**Should Nico regain full intelligence? I'm not sure if I want to keep him as a mimicking zombie or if I want him to be able to tell his own story soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

Annabeth peeked out the window before squealing and throwing it open. Whoever was at the door clambered through the small space and fell on our floor in a heap of black, leather and chains. When she got up, I saw that it was a girl from the grade above me: Thalia Grace, I think her name was. She looked around with piercing, blue eyes, warning anyone to say something.

I took the challenge. "Um, hi…?"

Thalia relaxed. "Hey. Who are you?"

"Percy." I stuck out my hand. She shook it.

"I'm Thalia."

"I know," I said, earning myself a death glare. "Uh… I've seen you around at school."

Thalia scowled, pushing past me to stand in front of Nico. For the first time since she arrived in the house, her eyes softened. Kneeling down, she pulled out a ball and clicked the top. It lit up, pulsing and changing colors slowly. Nico gave a cry of delight and took it from her hands. Thalia smiled.

"I'm glad you didn't shoot him," she said. Then she looked concerned. "Has Reyna gotten here yet?"

We hadn't seen anyone named Reyna. _I_ didn't know who Reyna was to begin with. At the mention of her name, Nico snarled, baring his teeth. Thalia flinched back, hoisting her gun with grace and accuracy. But she didn't pull the trigger. Even as Nico glared at her, she kept her finger steady and unmoving. The warning was clear: _Attack me, and I _will_ shoot._

In a low, rasping voice, Nico whispered, "Do… it…"

Annabeth's hands flew to her mouth, smothering the scream before it could surface. Once she seemed sure it wouldn't, she lowered her hands and said, "Don't, Thalia."

Thalia had already lowered her gun and was staring at Nico incredulously. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water before finally finding the voice to say: "It talks?"

Nico made a keening noise as he forced himself to full standing height. He edged forward as much as his chains would let him, his sneakers making a dull scraping sound on the wood floor. Thalia backed away, but she really didn't need to. I knew as well as anyone that Nico couldn't get farther than he'd already gotten. Not much, anyways.

In an instant, Annabeth was on her feet. Leo followed suit. They helped (or rather forced) Nico to sit down again, and pulled Thalia to a chair. The zombie and the blue-eyed girl glared at one another, scowling. I decided to explain Nico the way Annabeth had explained him to me.

"He's just a zombie," I said, already starting off on the wrong foot. "He mimics stuff. I don't think he has any real intelligence of his own. He just, um… Annabeth?"

Annabeth looked up from her hands. "Yeah," she agreed listlessly. "He mimics stuff… Oh—" She regained her composure. "Nico is not, as far as we can tell, a fully intelligent being. But—" she paused for dramatic effect. "He is learning."

Nico scoffed quietly. "Sure I am," he said. Not only was it more than two syllables, it was perfectly coherent and perfectly spoken. But when we looked at him, Nico was back to his old self, playing mindlessly with the light-up ball in his hands. Thalia started up like she was going to go over there and kick him, but Frank held her back. My mind was racing, imagining months locked in the old, creaky house with Thalia. Once cabin fever got to her, I guessed she was going to be a real charmer. She was already nuts. Her eyes pierced into my very soul as she glared at me.

"What're _you_ looking at?" she asked. I shrugged.

"You, I guess," I relied. Her hands balled into fists.

"Well, you'd better stop."

I don't know what it was, but something about her made me angry. I wanted to punch her right in her pale, pointy-nosed face, and I would have too if Jason hadn't grabbed my wrist.

"Don't piss her off," he whispered. "Not only is she my sister; she's _incredibly_ short-tempered. Okay?"

With an angry sigh, I shook him off. "Fine."

"Good choice," Jason said. "Don't worry. You'll get used to Thalia."

Hah. Getting used to Thalia would be like getting used to a giant thorn in my side. Especially if she was just going to sit and glare at me for the rest of our lives.

We spent two months in that house. Those two months were the most painful boredom I had ever felt in my life. Every day was spent making small talk, sometimes tossing a ball back and forth with Nico for fun.

Finally, one day, Nico started saying some interesting stuff. He threw the glowing ball at the wall with an exclamation of: "You're all stupid!"

Thalia grimaced and threw the ball right back at him. He couldn't catch it on such short notice, so he let it glance of his shoulder and roll away.

"Ugh!"

I sighed. "I get it, buddy. Wait—what?" I whirled to face him. "ANNABETH! ANNABETH, HE'S TALKING!"

Annabeth raced through the living room door faster than I think I've seen anyone movie in my life. Within seconds, she was sitting in front of Nico, whose mouth twitched up in an almost-smile.

"Hello… Ann…a…beth," he slurred. "I've…" He stopped, his eyes starting to go glassy again. Annabeth slapped him, muttering some small apology.

"Nico, you've what?" she asked. Nico groaned softly, searching for words in his sluggish, dead brain.

"I've… missed… you…" he got out after a long, painful pause. "Where… have…"

"Where have you been?" Annabeth guessed. Nico nodded jerkily, like he had no control over his movements, which he probably didn't.

"I fell… I… fell… asleep," he croaked. "I… fell… asleep… right…?"

Annabeth nodded, blinking back a torrent of tears. My heart clenched. Nico continued, but he was slowing down. His words dragged and meshed together and his movements became even slower.

"No… I… I…" He looked at his hands, expressionless. "I… died…"

Thalia crept forward, kneeling down and taking Nico's hand. Instinctively, he snapped at her. Then he stopped, still expressionless.

"I'm… not… human… an…y…more…"

"N-No," Thalia murmured. "You're not. You're a… a…" She sounded almost like a zombie herself. "You're a, um, zombie."

Hazel got up, reaching out for her brother's hand. Thalia stepped aside to let her sit by Nico. Frank's hands lingered in her hair, pulling it back slightly before letting it drop around her shoulders. Nico stared at her blankly.

"Ha…zel?" His voice was slowing down, creaking. He was shutting down again, becoming a full zombie again. In spite of Annabeth's best efforts to keep him conscious, he slipped back into mindlessness quite rapidly. Soon, he was just a babbling zombie.

"Well," Thalia said, looking at Annabeth. "Seems like _you're_ going to be the one doing the explaining."

And thus, the story of her survival began.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't a long story, but it left its mark. Annabeth trembled as she told it, but, to her credit, very few tears left her eyes and her voice barely quavered. Still, I could tell better than most that she was upset. It was funny… Over the time I'd spent with her, I'd started to notice the little things about her—like the way she twisted her hair around her finger when she was nervous, or the way her eyes lit up when she laughed.

"I shot Bianca," she said. "Because I didn't know what else I could do. And then I ran away. Nico followed me because he wanted to kill me, I think. But he started to understand why… why I did it. And he never liked me, but he saved my life. I didn't know he was turning until he was turned. And by then, it was too late to do anything. The bite…" She pointed to her ankle. "Was right here."

We sat in complete silence as she recalled how she had been unable to shoot him. She'd tried, she told us, but Bianca's face had flashed through her mind each time. She just couldn't do it. So she shot him in the shoulder, sending him flying back so she could grab the chains, and then she tied him up and dragged him here. It wasn't anything special, and she didn't mention how she'd found me along the way, but I kept quiet. I watched her as she spoke, noticing the way her eyebrows scrunched together whenever she had to stop and think, and the way she chewed her lower lip when she came across particularly painful memories.

Thalia, I noticed, didn't look up from her hands. When Annabeth finished, she muttered, "Sentiment," and picked at her chipping nail polish. The sound sent shivers down my spine. Ugh. It was almost worse than nails on a chalkboard.

"Thalia's right, Annabeth," Hazel said. "You allowed sentiment to endanger you by taking in a zombie. But I'm glad you did." There was warmth in her voice.

Annabeth shook her head; her blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders. "No," she hissed, sounding not just a little like Nico. "I'm stupid."

That's when I stepped in. To this day, I don't know why I did it, but I did. I wrapped my arms around Annabeth and gave her a hug worthy of my mother. Annabeth squeaked and practically flipped me over her shoulder. Then she hugged me back, burying her face in my shoulder. Her breath tickled my neck, making me laugh.

"What?" Annabeth asked. She didn't look up, but her voice was thick with emotions and probably tears. "What's this for?"

I shrugged. "Just thought you needed a hug."

For a second, I thought she wouldn't respond. But with a tiny laugh, she thanked me. When she pushed away from me, she was smiling. Gosh… she looked beautiful. Wait… where did _that_ come from? Since _when_ did I think Annabeth was beautiful? I mean—she _was_, but when did I actually _think_ that?

"No problem," I grinned, blushing. "I'm here to help."

Annabeth scoffed. "You're about as useful as a toothpick, Seaweed Brain."

"Sure," I agreed. "You keep believing that."

"_Believing_?" Her pride was hurt, but she was still smiling. "It's true! You're an idiot, and you have no idea how to use a knife!"

Instead of talking back or getting mad, I kissed her. There was that horrible moment where my stomach did backflips and I thought she was going to kill me… And then she kissed back. I was so surprised that I almost forgot to breathe. Before I knew it, Annabeth was already moving away to sit by Thalia. Thalia glared at me, almost jealously, before saying,

"Watch it, Jackson. You hurt her and I'll kick your ass."

This was the Thalia I grew to love. She was coarse and brutally honest and a good person to have on my side in the zombie apocalypse. There wasn't a single thing Thalia wouldn't do to protect her friends, even if it meant saving my ass multiple times. Eventually, she would warm up to me, but that wasn't going to be for a while.

Meanwhile, Annabeth was studying me with her wise, grey eyes. A small smile touched her lips, giving her face an almost childish air.

"I've wanted to do that for a long, long while," she gloated. Thalia scoffed.

"Sure, Annabeth," she said. "But don't let _him_ get in the way of your judgment."

Annabeth frowned, studying Thalia with a penetrating gaze. Thalia held that stare with cool, blue composure, smiling wickedly. They were perfectly still except for the rising and falling of their chests as they breathed. It was getting unbearable, but no one moved or said anything, not even Jason. Annabeth and Thalia just glared at each other, the world seeming to stop around them like they were the only people left in the universe. Even I felt weird… like I was detached from everything, even from myself. There was a chill hanging in the air around me, almost like a static energy morphing into sound. Still, Thalia and Annabeth did not move.

Finally, Nico broke the silence by shuffling his feet, making track marks on the dusty floor. I jumped, and I saw everyone else jump too. Nico was making agitated sounds, increasing in volume, inevitably working up into a scream. I wanted to clamp my hand over his mouth, but I knew he would bite me if I did. And, truth be told, I was used to his screaming.

Jason looked pained when Nico started shrieking, and Hazel looked like she was about to shoot me in the foot. She glared at me with dangerous, golden-brown eyes, daring me to say anything. I didn't. I was smarter than that (but just barely). Eventually, she backed down, the competition leaving her eyes.

"Whoa, Nico," Leo said, reaching out to steady him. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a tiny cylinder of metal. He took a deep breath and clicked a button, causing the entire thing to light up. It cast a beautiful, sun-like glow around the room. Nico made a small, happy mewling noise. Leo held the cylinder up, cupping it in his calloused hands.

"How did you _do_ that?" Piper gasped. Leo shrugged, still holding the cylinder just out of reach.

"Hmm," he contemplated. "Well, I can't let you have it, 'cause you might get hurt, Nico, but I can shine it every day when it gets dark. Okay?"

Nico didn't understand, really, but he seemed to get the gist of what Leo was saying. Leo grinned.

"Good zombie!" he said delightedly. "You really like light, don't you?"

Nico nodded vigorously. "Light," he agreed.

Leo ruffled his hair, smiling madly. I bet he wouldn't have messed up my science project. He'd probably have aced it and _not_ spilled the damn beaker on the mess of wires and metal scraps.

"So," Jason said, looking at me. "What's your story?"

I told them up until the point with the wires and metal. Then I started explaining the zombies.

"The project _exploded_," I explained. "Shards of metal and beaker glass were flying around and a couple of kids—more like ten or fifteen—got hit. They started convulsing and then, when they got back up, they were dead. I grabbed my brother and ran for my life. We ran and ran and ran down the streets to my house, which was pretty damn far away, and then… then it was too late. These _things_ were _everywhere_. They were spreading like wildfire. I guess there was a domino effect of explosions and stuff, 'cause they were literally everywhere. When I got home, my mum was gone. I found her in the living room…" I shuddered, mind flashing back to the gruesome scene. "She was, um, she was…"

Annabeth took a sharp breath, biting her lip. "They eat raw flesh, Percy. We've all seen it. Nico here—" she gestured to Nico, who was babbling incoherently. "He…" She couldn't continue. I thought she might throw up. No one else looked too peachy either. Jason had his arms crossed tightly, and Frank and Hazel were holding onto each other for dear life.

I continued my story. "Well, she got Tyson, but I didn't know. By that point, it was already slowing down. It took three days for him to turn. I tried dragging him with me for a few weeks, but eventually he went ballistic. Annabeth saved my ass."

"That was your _brother_?" Annabeth cried. "Why didn't you tell me?" She looked ready to panic. Without thinking, I kissed her again, holding her tightly in my arms.

"Because he was going to kill me. I'd rather be alive, sitting here with you…" I gave my most winning smile.

Annabeth smiled back. "Fine," she said. "But don't think I'm saving your ass again."

I knew she was lying. And I knew then what I'd know for the rest of my life. I loved her.


	7. Chapter 7

After a few more days of crushing boredom, Thalia decided we should take a trip outside. We didn't abandon the house, though. Frank, Hazel, Jason, Piper and Leo took the first watch. Annabeth, Thalia and I ventured out into the world we'd all but forgotten.

It was chilly and dark and kind of creepy. There weren't any zombies that I could see, and there wasn't any real sign of danger. Of course, that probably meant danger was a mere few feet away, waiting to strike. Yeah. That was probably it.

"Shh!" Thalia hissed, hands flying to the gun at her hip. From then on, it stayed in her hand.

Annabeth prowled ahead, pointing her gun at anything and everything that made a sound. She was skittish and jumpy, and she obviously wanted to get the hell back inside. But Thalia refused. She wanted to see the world after being cooped up for so long. She was suffering from acute cabin fever, and nothing would get her back into that house until she was satisfied that it was indeed better than being attacked by zombies.

"Percy!" Annabeth whispered, looking at me with panicked eyes. I followed her finger until I saw it. It was… wait for it… a horde of zombies headed straight for us. What else? Groaning, I pulled a knife from my belt and steeled myself for the coming fight.

The first zombie was an easy victory. I stabbed my knife deep in its skull and watched it fall, grinning. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I felt so… alive. To my left, Annabeth kicked and shot at zombies, avoiding their snapping teeth with expertise and grace. Thalia was great too. She never missed. Apparently she had been on the archery team before the apocalypse started. Apparently the archery team had been all girls. Thalia had been dating one named Zoë. Anyways, she was a great shot and that was all that mattered

Fighting zombies looked so easy in the movies, but it was really, really hard. Every second was terror. I thought I was going to be bitten at _least_ twice, and I kept ducking bullets. My weapon of choice, a knife, wasn't really the most effective thing against zombies. Oh well.

Somewhere after the first twenty minutes, the zombies backed off. That's when we ran. We were headed for this old, abandoned warehouse I had seen on my way to the house a few months ago, but I was having trouble remembering where it was. Annabeth tracked our path with a homing device she and Leo had rigged using an old landline phone and her cell phone. Unfortunately, the warehouse must have moved, because I was finding it difficult to locate.

"Percy," Annabeth soothed, taking my hand. "Are you _sure_ it was this way?"

I nodded uncertainly. "I… I think so. It _has_ to be. It just…" I stared around like a lost puppy. "Ah! There it is!"

And, sure enough, there it was. The old warehouse was right in front of us the whole time. As I looked at it, I imagined the windows were eyes and that it might be laughing at me. But it probably wasn't. What (or who) _was_ laughing at me? Well, Annabeth and Thalia. They were doubled over, hugging themselves as if to hold in the giggles. Through her laugher, Thalia giggled,

"You know, if Nico were here, he'd—" She stopped suddenly, and so did Annabeth. Nico wasn't here, and he wouldn't be for… maybe forever. He was a zombie. Thalia sobered up pretty quickly. "He'd, uh, probably make a lot of incoherent noises and try to bite Percy."

"Hey!" I cried. "The warehouse is _right there_, Thalia. I _found_ it!"

"_It_ found _you_," she corrected. "But same idea."

As we were about to crack up again, three zombies jumped from the trees. Thalia screamed angrily, bashing one of them in the head with the end of her gun. Annabeth toppled backwards, holding a zombie off with her bare hands. Her knife had skidded away and she couldn't reach her gun.

"ANNABETH!" I screamed. Thalia kicked her zombie in the head, sending it flying backwards, and whirled to help Annabeth. She shot the thing in the brain and then took care of her own. She didn't help me.

"Let's see what you do, Seaweed Brain," she said coolly.

Okay. _That_ made me mad. No one but Annabeth called me Seaweed Brain, and I wasn't about to let Thalia warp that nickname. With an angry yell, I grabbed the knife from my belt and slammed it downwards into the zombie's skull. It staggered almost comically, crashing into Thalia. She toppled over with a small shriek of surprise.

"Karma," I muttered.

"Shut up!" Thalia shoved the zombie's limp body off of her, wrinkling up her nose in distaste.

"Ugh," she said. "I'm glad Nico isn't like _that_." She pointed at the decaying mess of once-human flesh. I nodded.

"Me too. Any bites, ladies?"

We examined every inch of our bodies for bites before giving the all clear to proceed. The warehouse was just in reach, so it wouldn't be _too _difficult to reach… I hoped.

Of course, that meant the whole front door would be swarming with zombies. Upon seeing them, Annabeth grabbed me and kissed me.

"Hey," she said. "If this is where we die, I don't want you getting all sentimental at the last minute."

"Yeah," Thalia agreed roughly. "Let's go."

Okay, okay. I know what you're all thinking. You're all thinking you have no idea what _we_ were thinking! Truth is. That's not too far off. We had no _idea_ what we were thinking because there wasn't time to think. It was do or die, and we weren't about to pick _die_. So we charged at the zombies, weapons raised, scariest faces on display.

Right off the bat, something went wrong. Thalia's gun failed and she found herself fighting with virtually nothing. Still, she could use the gun to whack, and that's what she did. But the zombies were getting faster. Maybe they sensed that we wanted something they didn't want us to have, or maybe it was just primal instinct, but they were _fast_. Before I could stop one, it bit down hard on Thalia's left hand. She screamed.

"Thalia!" Annabeth grabbed a knife from her belt and, without thinking, brought it down hard on Thalia's wrist. There was a sickening sound and then Thalia's hand was gone. Pain was etched across her face, but she bit her lip.

"We have to run," she said. "We can get inside through that door and grab whatever we need. Then you'll have to defend me on the way back. At least until I can learn to fight with one hand. Okay?"

We nodded. "Okay."

"Great." Thalia smiled creepily. "Let's get going."

Without another thought, we ran. I was starting to think about this movie I'd seen when I was fourteen. It was about some guy fighting zombies, but it hadn't been very good. But they'd had to cut off a girl's hand because she was bitten, and that had worked just fine, so I hoped Thalia would be okay too. I was going to trust that crappy movie and say that she _would_ be fine. She _had_ to be.

The door was locked. Annabeth managed to kick it down, and we ran inside. Sure enough, it was a treasure trove. There were shovels, guns, bags of planting soil and all kinds of other stuff you'd want in a zombie apocalypse. But we couldn't stay long. We grabbed what we needed, some firearms, ammunition, and some other random stuff (I took a shovel), and we ran for it.

As we were running, I glanced over at Thalia, who was hugging her arm to her chest, grimacing. I wanted to apologize, but I knew what she'd say. _It was necessary, Percy. Don't worry your stupid head about me_.

When we got back to the house, it was dead silent. But as soon as they saw us, our friends gave heavy sighs of relief. Hazel and Piper grabbed Thalia, sat her down and wrapped her arm in a bandage. Thalia squeezed her eyes shut, breathing heavily against the pain. Every so often, a cry would slip through her lips and she'd sob. It was very un-Thalia like.

Nico, upon seeing Thalia's arm, clutched the glowing ball she'd given him closer to his chest and whimpered, "Ouch."

Thalia laughed tightly. "Yeah," she grunted through gritted teeth. "Ouch."

"I'm so sorry," Annabeth apologized, grabbing a bandage and helping Hazel wrap up the wound. "I got the idea from this movie I saw once, and Hazel said it worked, and—"

"Yeah," Thalia said abruptly. "That movie was shit."

None of us could argue, even if we couldn't even remember the title.

"So…" Jason said after the longest silence we'd endured thus far. "What's _your_ story, Thalia?"


	8. Chapter 8

_DISCLAIMER: I just realized how much this is sounding like the movie __**World War Z**__, even though I thoroughly despised it (WWZ), so I'm going to say this… IF ANYTHING SOUNDS LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, IT IS EITHER A COINCIDENCE (most likely option), OR I'VE BEEN WATCHING TOO MUCH __**BUFFY**__/ ZOMBIE MOVIE STUFF. I do not own Percy Jackson, nor do I own anything else fandom-related. _

The color drained from Thalia's face like it had been sucked out. She shook her head quickly, muttering, "You don't want to hear it. It's boring, I promise." I could tell she was nervous, maybe even on the verge of panicking, but Jason seemed oblivious. He was obviously curious to hear how his sister had survived for so long on her lonesome. Still, I didn't think Thalia was in any mood to tell.

"Please?" Jason begged. "I'll tell my story if you tell yours."

"Well," Thalia began, contemplating whether to tell the whole thing or whether she ought to leave us all in the dark. "It was the science fair at school. And… and some dork's project exploded… and that's all I can really remember."

I hung my head, blushing. "That was my project. Sorry."

Thalia snorted. "Why am I not surprised?" she sneered. "Anyways… I ran for it as soon as I saw people acting funny. I don't… I don't remember when I realized Zoë was too, but I just… I…" She swallowed hard. "I didn't know what else to do, so I left here there."

I glanced over at Jason. There were tears running down his cheeks, and he was biting on his lip until it bled. Next to him, Piper was stony-faced and unmoving. At her side, Frank and Hazel were holding hands, looking into each other's eyes with pain and memory. Annabeth grabbed my hand, but she didn't look at me. Thalia continued her chilling story.

"I guess I didn't realize how lonely I was until… until… I found the house. I, um, saw Annabeth through the window, and I thought it couldn't be all bad if she was here."

No one pressed her on the details of her survival before then. Instead, Hazel got up and washed her hands in the sink, speaking in a soft, angelic voice. It was the voice she used when she was talking to Nico, soothing him after one of his tantrums.

"All that matters is that you're here and you're alive," she said, drying her hands on her shirt. "We're not going to let you down. We're a family."

Frank nodded gruffly. "Hazel's right," he agreed. "We can't worry about the past because it's just that. It's gone. Maybe forever."

In his corner, Nico coughed. "I _was_ gay. Is _that_ past?"

We didn't really pay attention to what he said, just that he was saying it. In the past couple of days, it hadn't been unusual for Nico to say clearly thought through things, but this was different. There was emotion behind it: bitterness, pain, anger. The way his hands clenched and his eyes narrowed, even if it _was_ sluggish and zombie-like.

Then it hit us. "Wait, you're _gay_?"

Nico nodded, his eyes blanking out again. I was starting to get annoyed at his rare moments of clarity. But the good news was they were getting more frequent, and they were lasting longer. He sometimes held full conversations for a good few minutes before blanking out. But the rest of the time he was just a zombie.

Thalia laughed breathily. "I should have known," she muttered. "The way he looked at you in the hallways, the blush whenever someone said your name." She was looking at _me_.

"Excuse me, what?" I asked. Thalia snorted gracelessly.

"He was always looking at you. Pining, I think you might call it. Yeah, I knew he was gay."

No one else had, apparently, because they all stared. Even _Hazel_ was staring at Thalia as she got up and waved her injured arm around, testing it.

"I just hope we can help him," she said. "He was a good kid before… well, before all this."

Annabeth coughed. Thalia glared before continuing her monologue.

"Given, he did have the occasional tantrum and the frequent breakdowns about Percy. But… but he was a good kid. I liked him well enough, and he didn't piss me off _too_ much."

Again, Annabeth coughed. But this time, she got her word in. "Uh, Thalia...? You always complained about wanting to bash his f-ing head into his locker."

Thalia smiled wistfully. "Ah, yes. Locker 666, wasn't it? Good times. Good times." She winced as the place where her hand should have been brushed against the arm of a chair. "Stupid hand!"

There was another pause after that; a silence that none of us felt comfortable breaking. It was calm and peaceful—even Nico wasn't making much noise—and the sunlight was pale and warm as it filtered through Nico's sun-window. Of course, Nico was the only one who actually _felt_ that sunlight. The rest of us sat in the gloom, watching him be "happy." He shuffled around in his circle of light, clinking his chains and muttering incoherently. Sometimes, he looked at me and muttered my name or some not-so-nice words. Then he'd just go back to mumbling and keening. It was pretty pathetic.

Hazel and Frank stared into each other's eyes with blank faces. They looked like they were reading each other's minds, sharing stories and hardships without so much as a word. Both had tears gathered in the corners of their eyes, but neither moved to wipe them away. They held hands, perfectly still and statue-like in the shadows of the room. If I'd had paper, I would've drawn them.

Jason and Piper were another story entirely. They leaned close together, whispering urgently in the dark. I couldn't hear the words, just that hey were saying them. There was something beautiful about that, though: a kind of secrecy and grace. Piper rested her hand on Jason's knee, and he rested his on her elbow. Every so often, they would close the gap between them and kiss, just for a moment. It was beautiful.

As for Annabeth and I… we were a sight to behold. We just sort of sat there, looking at each other and around the room at our friends. Annabeth twisted a loose thread around her finger, pulling at it irritably. I picked at a scab on my elbow… real grown-up like.

"Percy, don't do that," Annabeth said finally, swatting my hand away from my elbow. "It'll get infected."

I didn't bother to argue. Annabeth grabbed a Band-Aid from the kitchen counter and stuck it on my arm (after a vigorous cleaning with soap and rubbing alcohol, of course). It stung for a few minutes, but I was glad she'd had the forethought to do that. Thalia was already missing a hand. What would we do if my elbow were incapacitated? What would I land on when I inevitably tripped over my own feet?

"Thanks, Bananabeth." I grinned. Annabeth scowled.

"NO!" Nico screamed, throwing the glowing ball at my head. I ducked and it hit the wall. The light went out. Nico wailed heartbrokenly. "Not fair. Not fair. Not fair. Not fair. Not fair."

Thalia scowled. If I hadn't been hyper aware of everything going on around me, I might not have heard he whisper, "I know, Nico. I know just what you mean."


	9. Chapter 9

Of course, I pretended I didn't hear her. Instead, I scratched the back of my neck, staring awkwardly at the wall behind Nico's head. Nico glared at me like I'd killed his grandmother, which—zombie apocalypse and all—might actually have happened somewhere down the line. I had taken out a couple of grey-haired ghouls outside of the school.

"So, um, how was your trip outside?" Frank asked, his awkward stuttering giving me a glimpse of the adorable, chubby Frank Hazel always talked about. His question, however, sent chills up my spine. Thalia rubbed her forearm painfully, her eyes narrowed bravely.

"It was fine," she muttered. Annabeth chuckled.

"Stop being brave, Thals. That arm looks like it stings."

Thalia batted at Annabeth with her good hand. Annabeth ducked, grinning. I laughed too because I didn't know when I might be given the opportunity to laugh again. Annabeth leaned in and kissed me, her erudite grey eyes staring into mine. She looked beautiful in a badass, zombie-fighter kind of way.

When I looked away from Annabeth, I saw Frank, Hazel, Jason and Piper laughing. Nico looked sullen as he kicked his glowing ball across the floor. It bumped my foot and rolled towards Annabeth. She scooped it up in her long, tan fingers and balanced its weight in her hand. Nico whined and reached out for the ball, which Annabeth held close to her chest.

"Should I give it to you?" she teased. "Or should I just keep it for myself?"

Nico strained against his bonds, trying to reach his glowing ball. "Mine."

Annabeth giggled, holding the ball out to Nico. He grabbed it, wrapping his greyish, bony fingers around the smooth, luminous surface. I wondered how much battery that thing had left. I knew that when it went out, Nico would be furious. I didn't want an angry zombie in the same house with me. I was _sure_ Nico wouldn't spare me if he got angry. Whatever was left of him was almost obliterated aside from the occasional lucid moments.

In one of those moments, Nico tried to hold a conversation with someone I never thought he would talk to. Leo.

"I… I… Though you… would…"

Leo knelt down, crawling closer to Nico, furrowing his brow. "Would what, Nico?"

"Leave…" He paused, and I though he would go blank again. "Me…"

Then he did go blank. Leo jumped up, looking like he'd been punched in the stomach. His face was pale, drained-looking. He stumbled back a few paces, desperately trying to form a coherent sentence as he stared at Nico. And then he broke, kneeling next to Nico, holding up the cylinder of artificial sunlight, trying to wake him up. I heard him talking, some of it in a different language, most in English. He was almost in tears, mostly shocked.

"Nico, don't do this again. You… you _can't_." He put his head in his hands and started crying, but Nico didn't wake up. He stayed as blank and zombie-like. When Leo realized we were staring, he stood up, squaring his jaw, and turned to face us. "I guess I have some explaining to do," he said.

Thalia rushed to stand by him, leaning to whisper in his ear urgently. I heard her say, "You don't have to, Leo."

Leo shook his head, shoving her away gently. "No. No, I do. I do." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys. Nico… means a lot to me, okay? I don't know exactly _what_ he means to me, but it's a lot. We struck up a friendship because he was getting over Percy and I was getting over Hazel. And I guess we were like Willow and Tara. We didn't tell you guys because we wanted… _I_ wanted something that was just mine."

Piper nodded. "It makes sense," she murmured. Leo cut her off.

"There's more," he admitted. "He's more than just my friend. He's _so_ much more. I think… I loved him. I think I did. Maybe I still do, even though he's brain-dead most of the time."

Nico whined, seeming to shake off his trance for a second time. He looked up with wide, black eyes. "Leo? Are you there? Hazel? Ann…a…beth?"

Leo surprised us by kneeling down next to Nico and taking his hand. Nico looked up blindly in what would have been panic were he alive.

"I can't…" he blinked. "I can't see you, Leo. Where… where?" His voice was rising in pitch. Annabeth jumped to her feet.

"It's his eyes. They've gone completely dead." She looked like she wanted to cry. "I don't think he's got much time for the other senses either. Unless we do something, Nico is going to rot from the inside out. I think their brains are set to self-destruct. If I could just disable that, then I could—"

Leo sobbed. "He's not a machine! We can't… we can't fix him, Annabeth."

I glanced at Annabeth, wondering how I would feel if she were in Nico's place and I were in Leo's. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hazel and Frank whispering. Hazel looked unnerved and Frank was starting to look pissed off. I didn't want to stick around when I _was_ pissed off. I wondered what Hazel was saying, what she was thinking, though I had a pretty good idea already. Annabeth had confided in me that Hazel was somewhat, well, old fashioned. The news that her brother and Leo may or may not have been dating must have been pretty out of place for her. I didn't see any problem with it.

"What are we going to do?" Thalia asked. Her voice shook, and she looked pretty beat up. She clutched her injured arm to her chest as if she was just starting to feel the pain. Blood seeped slowly through the bandages, but it was already stopping. Her face was stiff, like she was trying to put on her brave face and pretend our zombie friend wasn't slipping away in spite of our eyes.

Hazel stood up, her face streaked with tears but determined. She had a gun in her hand, but she wasn't doing anything with it, which made me kind of nervous. I'd never seen her like this before. Wordlessly, she hoisted the gun to her shoulder, aiming it straight at Nico's head. A small sob shook her before she regained composure.

"We're going to do the only thing we can do."

**A/N: Sorry… I made it Leo/Nico. I don't know why I keep having them be a couple in AU. I don't really ship it in canon, though, which I find incredibly odd. **

**Suggestions? **


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